Say hello to their Heston 120, the legendary wall-of-sound maker’s first altogether more civilised foray into the high-fidelity world of soundbars. Yes, expect less of the ear-shredding SPL and more of the room-filling DSP as it promises to bring "a long-awaited rock 'n' roll flair" to the living room audio market.

In this day and age of ever thinner TVs with increasingly vanishing frames the need for a decent pair of speakers has never been more vital. And, aiming to capitalise on its reputation for both high fidelity and old school rock ‘n’ roll styling, Marshall reckons that it's come up with the ultimate package that any music or movie fan will love.

First of all there’s that sound, with Marshall promising that the Heston will deliver deep, rich, and clear sound audio, complete with a powerful bass that belies its slim styling. Its soundbar has been tuned for low frequencies, producing lifelike audio, and special effects for a big impact.

Plus, the Heston 120 can cope with whatever hi-tech sound standards you throw at it being both Dolby Atmos and DTS-X compatible and fitted with 11 individual speaker drivers aimed in different directions to more precisely place surround sound anywhere within your room.

And adding one to your TV couldn’t be simpler with a single HDMI eARC connection to your TV or home cinema amp, or add one to your streaming music setup with HDMI pass-through. And, of course, if you simply want to blast out of your phone, Bluetooth is included.

The whole thing looks more than a little like a shrunken Marshall amp head with the same knurled metal knobs, wraparound leather-style tolex and a brushed metal front panel that you might find on one of its legendary cab-top myth makers.

And should things get a little too rock 'n' roll next time you’re busting out Loose Women, Marshall assures us that – just like its road-worn, long-life, heavyweight amp brethren – the Heston 120 is completely repairable with replaceable parts.

Rather more hi-tech, however, is the Heston’s range of digitally signal processed audio moods, including Music, Movie, Night and Voice, each finetuned to spin a subtle EQ to better present your chosen entertainment. And should the idea of walking over to tweak its amp-inspired easy-access volume and tone knobs be a little too much like the old days, you can sit back and take control via the Marshall app instead.

The app will even listen to your room during the Heston’s simple setup procedure, eliminating the need for a front-of-house sound guy.

“We know that soundbar owners use their soundbar to listen to music, yet most soundbars are not built for both music and TV. This gave us a reason to exist and an opportunity to really shine with our legacy in music and audio” says Anders Olsson, Senior Product Manager at Marshall Group.

“We spent hundreds of hours finetuning Heston 120. It was important to us that we spent equal time and effort on both TV and music, not one over the other. Everything inside is tailored and engineered to have very specific roles to give you an optimal audio experience, no matter what you’re watching or listening to,” added Ed Camphor, Audio Technology and Tuning Lead at Marshall Group.

And to better announce its new home-focused, retro-inspired speaker, Marshall has dipped into the mists of time to pull out Dan and Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, who welcome viewers of a new YouTube video into their Heston 120-equipped home for a nostalgic rejig through old MTV Cribs territory.

And should MTV’s turn-of-the-century, through-the-keyhole glimpse into the homes of the rich and famous have passed you by, don’t worry: Marshall has even squeezed in an appearance by the hot-right-now Nova Twins. Phew.

“We had a blast inviting Marshall into our home. No one has ever seen where the Hawkins bros live - Justin and I are basically hermits, living in total silence (apart from when we listen to our majestic Marshall soundbars that fill every room),” offers Dan Hawkins.

While we’re certain that Marshall can keep the Hawkins brothers happy as regards audio fidelity, there's the small matter of those that love lots of bass. Fret not: The Heston Sub 200 subwoofer is coming later this year, alongside a more affordable stripped down Heston 60.

Heston 120 is available for pre-order now and will go on sale on 3 June on the Marshall website and be at select retailers including Currys from 16 September. It’s yours for £900.

Daniel Griffiths is a veteran journalist who has worked on some of the biggest entertainment, tech and home brands in the world. He's interviewed countless big names, and covered countless new releases in the fields of music, videogames, movies, tech, gadgets, home improvement, self build, interiors and garden design. He’s the ex-Editor of Future Music and ex-Group Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Musician, Guitarist, Guitar World, Computer Music and more. He renovates property and writes for MusicRadar.com.